1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optical device using an electro-optical substance such as liquid crystal or the like, and to an electronic device having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With known electro-optical devices, wherein an electro-optical substance such as liquid crystal or the like is sandwiched between a pair of substrates, and the optical properties of the liquid crystal or the like is changed by an electric circuit formed upon one of the substrates, so as to perform a display, multiple components are formed on the substrate on which the electric circuit is formed, such as transistors, scanning lines, data lines, pixel electrodes, storage capacitors, a layer for shielding external incident light, and a layer for insulating these electrodes and wires (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-170909).
The source electrode of a transistor is electrically connected to a pixel electrode via multiple contact holes formed in an insulating film and a relay electrode layer. Also, a fixed electrode layer for inputting an external common potential is electrically connected to one electrode of a storage capacity formed for holding optical properties of the liquid crystal or the like, via a separate relay electrode layer. The fixed electrode layer is formed in matrix fashion on the one substrate. Each of the pixel electrodes are connected to the fixed layer of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions, in matrix fashion. It should be noted here that the term “vertical direction” as opposite to “horizontal direction” as used in the present specification does not refer to the thickness direction of the substrate, i.e. to the direction in which the layers are layered, but to one direction on the main face of the substrate.
Also, one of the multiple relay electrode layers connected to the pixel electrodes is formed at the same layer as the fixed electrode layer. Now, two contact holes are formed in the formation region of the relay electrode layer at the same layer as the fixed electrode layer. One of the contact holes is a contact hole for connecting the relay electrode layer to the pixel electrode, and the other is a contact hole for connecting the relay electrode layer to a semiconductor layer of the transistor (drain electrode or source electrode). In this case, the relay electrode layer and the fixed electrode layer are formed at the same layer, so there is the need to electrically separate the two. Accordingly, for the size of each pixel formed on the substrate (i.e., planar dimensions), there is the need to ensure an area of a size large enough to layout at least the area of the relay electrode layer, the area of the two contact holes, and an area for separating the relay electrode layer and fixed electrode layer.
Further, the relay electrode layer directly connected to the pixel electrode connects to the transistor via another relay electrode layer formed at a different layer as this relay electrode layer, and the fixed electrode layer is connected to one electrode forming the storage capacitor via an relay electrode layer at the same layer as the other relay electrode layer mentioned above. Accordingly, there is the need to provide area of a size capable of layout of the relay electrode layers formed in separate layers and area for separating these. Also, the size of the light shielding portion which stipulates the aperture ratio of the pixel is restricted by the size of the above relay electrode layers, the width of the fixed electrode layer, and further the area needed for separating the relay electrode layer and fixed electrode layer.